Winter Bride a step up in class
GOLD Coast trainer Toby Edmonds will probably set Winter Bride for the Group 2 Salinger Stakes after celebrating a second straight Group 3 win at Caulfield with the mare.
Edmonds praised the work of jockey Ryan Maloney and Winter Bride, who overcame a 57kg handicap to beat Booker by a nose down the straight to win the Group 3 Cape Grim Beef Steaks (1200m).
It was Winter Bride’s fourth straight win and came three weeks after the mare won the Group Boost Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield.
“It was a good win. She went up a couple of kilograms in weight and even though the margin wasn’t great, she was really strong late so it was a good effort,” Edmonds said.
“She was well ridden, (Maloney) summed it up really well because it was quite firm, the track, and a bit difficult to make ground, especially in that race. He summed it up well and got the job done.”
Winter Bride’s form throughout the Brisbane Winter Carnival prompted Edmonds to send the mare south and it’s paid enormous dividends for the stable.
Edmonds said there was nothing like spring carnival success in Melbourne to add to a mare’s value.
“It’s a really important time for mares to add to their value, especially spring time in Melbourne,” Edmonds said.
“It puts a heap of value on their foals and the mare itself so it’s good.”
Edmonds isn’t planning on selling Winter Bride any time soon and said she would probably press on to race in the Salinger Stakes, also known as the Linlithgow Stakes, to be held on Derby Day at Flemington.
“She is in good order and still maturing,” Edmonds said.
“We will race her on and probably run her in the Salinger. We will go that way and see what happens.”
The rain may have forced meetings on the Gold Coast and Brisbane to be cancelled on Saturday, but multiple local trainers found success south of the border.
Murwillumbah trainer Matt Dunn won the Highway Handicap (1400m) with Tristan de Angel at Royal Randwick while Pierata, partlyowned by Gold Coast doctor George Clegg and his wife Carol, won the Sydney Stakes (1200m) at the same track four races earlier.